10 ms·

In terms of the kindness of strangers, I’m reminded of a friend who decided she wanted to hitch hike around Mexico when she was 18. She was poor but she wanted

In terms of the kindness of strangers, I’m reminded of a friend who decided she wanted to hitch hike around Mexico when she was 18. She was poor but she wanted adventures. She wanted to get away from the beaten path, away from tourist traps, and go out into the rural areas so she could discover what Mexico was really like. Everyone who picked her up warned her that what she was doing was very dangerous. She was lucky, they said, to get a ride from them, and not the criminals all around them. She got ride after ride like that. Family after family picked her up and took her along on their trip and all of them said, “You are in danger! You are lucky we are the ones who picked you up!” In this manner, she traveled around Mexico for a month, and she never had a dangerous ride.

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
wil421 7y ago
They were picking her up to protect her. I’ve been in Central America and had these types of things happen, never foolish enough to hitchhike. Many times people on buses have explained these types of things to me. Where I need it watch out for my stuff, how to not get ripped off, and which places I should avoid. One example I can remember[1]. [1] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/08/28/the-incredible-life-and-haunting-death-of-world-traveler-harry-devert/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/08/2...
ericmcer 7y ago
I frequently walked home from work in Oakland at 1am when I worked a night shift. I always wore headphones too and people would tell me I was being stupid. After about a year and a half of this I was coming up a hill to a four way intersection when someone popped out from behind a fence just before I passed it, grabbed my shirt and stuck a gun in my stomach. He ended up being not the worst and let me keep my keys and license when I asked. It only takes once, and the consequences for her would probably have been much worse.
- HeWhoLurksLate 7y ago
  Yikes! How did you get the gun out of your stomach?
  - tripzilch 7y ago
    He still had the keys.
- exolymph 7y ago
  > the consequences for her would probably have been much worse. Are you assuming that the mugger you encountered would have raped her? (To be clear, I don't think that's a prima facie invalid assumption. It's a sincere object-level question.)
  - omegabravo 7y ago
    No, they are assuming it could have been worse. That includes the possibility of having a gun pulled on them like OP which only happened once.
  - arkitaip 7y ago
    Amazing, I can't even begin to understand how you reached that conclusion. Maybe you're a 4D being?
    - exolymph 7y ago
      The person I was responding to said: "It only takes once, and the consequences for her would probably have been much worse." I was trying to figure out what he meant / what the assumption indicated, which I still don't understand.
      - phalangion 7y ago
        They are implying that the outcome for the girl hitchhiking around Mexico could have been worse had one of the criminals or other bad actors been the one to pick her up. I believe the purpose of the story here is to warn against survivorship bias. Just because something bad doesn't happen to you when you do something risky, it does not mean that the bad thing does not or cannot happen. Someone hitchhiking solo around Mexico (or anywhere) is taking a risk of being picked up by nefarious persons and having bad things happen, such as sexual assault, kidnapping, torture, or murder. The fact that one girl did it for a month with no issue does not necessarily mean that there is no risk in doing it. The purpose of the Oakland story is to warn that just because something bad doesn't happen, even for a long time, it does not mean that the bad thing does not happen.
tgsovlerkhgsel 7y ago
The problem with hitchhiking is that you don't pick someone at random, someone decides to pick you up. If you pick a random person, they'll almost certainly be a normal, honest person. If you advertise yourself with a giant sign "I WILL GET IN YOUR CAR IF YOU STOP", then a small percentage of random strangers, but a large percentage of opportunistic criminals, will stop. I'd argue she got very lucky.
- netsharc 7y ago
  It seems like hitchhiking works then! In safe areas, and in super dangerous areas when you look vulnerable... All those families stopped because they were afraid for her well-being. But still, super lucky, if a criminal had got on that road ahead of the family, the story might have been different.
  - jaco8 7y ago
    I agree. I was forced to hitch-hike in Guatemala after missing the last bus . I also was picked up by a family and sat in the back of their truck for about 100km. When I got off at 9pm they advised to only continue to hitch on mining trucks or oil tankers during the night. I still remember sitting under a huge banana leaf during torrential rain waiting for hours for a truck to stop. The driver later dropped me off in the middle of no where and said a bus would stop there by 5.30am and indeed it did stop, but it was full so I was sitting on the roof of the bus for the next three hours together with 10 other souls.
- DoreenMichele 7y ago
  I have reservations about the explanation that a consistent positive outcome can be chalked up to pure luck. She may not know what she was "doing right," but I think it more likely she was doing something that helped foster positive outcomes.
  - ALittleLight 7y ago
    You may want to consider the rates of homicide and rape in Mexico before determining that one person's experience of not being hurt is that compelling.
jaco8 7y ago
In a bus traveling south of Mazatlan I met a family and they invited me to stay at their home in Mexico City. This place, as it turned out, was right in the middle of the largest slum and consisted of a metal frame with roofing and side walls made of tarpauline and a mud floor . The first few days there was a queue of people outside just to oogle the foreigner, but it was all good with lots of smiles. The morning teeth brushing and face washing ritual by young and old was fascinating to watch, with everyone awaiting their turn at the single faucet for hundreds of people.Food was simple, mostly made on small kerosene stoves. I stayed for 8 days and at no time did I feel unsafe , despite my host explaining about many pickpockets , expert thieves and robbers living in this area who went to work the tourist spots during the day , like other people would go to an office , but this was home. My host had a real job in the forestry department of the city government , but he said he could not afford to live else where.
- joewee 7y ago
  Professional thieves are professional enough to not waste time on the foreigner that was probably broke since you were staying in their neighborhood. And professional thieves need a level of anonymity to work, which goes out the door when they rob someone in front of their aunt.
Moru 7y ago
That's not how it works. People travel around like that the whole time I'm sure. If every one would end up dead after a month, there would not be anyone left. But that one time it happens, be it after 10 years or 20, you are still dead. Sucks to be that tiny percent that it happens to.
lazyasciiart 7y ago
Another woman did that recently(ish) in Europe, not just for adventures but to prove the world was a safe place or something - she was murdered though https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pippa_Bacca https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pippa_Bacca
mbar84 7y ago
This reminds me of a story about how a tribe in the amazon jungle picks their camp site. They check the surrounding trees to make sure they are in good health. I imagine you would have to spend 1000 nights next to a tree they would regard as unsafe, before there was even a chance for something to happen to you. When it happens though, your family will remember it.
zantana 7y ago
This is literally survivorship bias.
EA 7y ago
Survivor's Bias...

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

wil421 7y ago

They were picking her up to protect her. I’ve been in Central America and had these types of things happen, never foolish enough to hitchhike. Many times people on buses have explained these types of things to me. Where I need it watch out for my stuff, how to not get ripped off, and which places I should avoid. One example I can remember[1]. [1] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/08/28/the-incredible-life-and-haunting-death-of-world-traveler-harry-devert/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/08/2...

ericmcer 7y ago

I frequently walked home from work in Oakland at 1am when I worked a night shift. I always wore headphones too and people would tell me I was being stupid. After about a year and a half of this I was coming up a hill to a four way intersection when someone popped out from behind a fence just before I passed it, grabbed my shirt and stuck a gun in my stomach. He ended up being not the worst and let me keep my keys and license when I asked. It only takes once, and the consequences for her would probably have been much worse.

HeWhoLurksLate 7y ago
Yikes! How did you get the gun out of your stomach?
- tripzilch 7y ago
  He still had the keys.
exolymph 7y ago
> the consequences for her would probably have been much worse. Are you assuming that the mugger you encountered would have raped her? (To be clear, I don't think that's a prima facie invalid assumption. It's a sincere object-level question.)
- omegabravo 7y ago
  No, they are assuming it could have been worse. That includes the possibility of having a gun pulled on them like OP which only happened once.
- arkitaip 7y ago
  Amazing, I can't even begin to understand how you reached that conclusion. Maybe you're a 4D being?
  - exolymph 7y ago
    The person I was responding to said: "It only takes once, and the consequences for her would probably have been much worse." I was trying to figure out what he meant / what the assumption indicated, which I still don't understand.
    - phalangion 7y ago
      They are implying that the outcome for the girl hitchhiking around Mexico could have been worse had one of the criminals or other bad actors been the one to pick her up. I believe the purpose of the story here is to warn against survivorship bias. Just because something bad doesn't happen to you when you do something risky, it does not mean that the bad thing does not or cannot happen. Someone hitchhiking solo around Mexico (or anywhere) is taking a risk of being picked up by nefarious persons and having bad things happen, such as sexual assault, kidnapping, torture, or murder. The fact that one girl did it for a month with no issue does not necessarily mean that there is no risk in doing it. The purpose of the Oakland story is to warn that just because something bad doesn't happen, even for a long time, it does not mean that the bad thing does not happen.

tgsovlerkhgsel 7y ago

The problem with hitchhiking is that you don't pick someone at random, someone decides to pick you up. If you pick a random person, they'll almost certainly be a normal, honest person. If you advertise yourself with a giant sign "I WILL GET IN YOUR CAR IF YOU STOP", then a small percentage of random strangers, but a large percentage of opportunistic criminals, will stop. I'd argue she got very lucky.

netsharc 7y ago
It seems like hitchhiking works then! In safe areas, and in super dangerous areas when you look vulnerable... All those families stopped because they were afraid for her well-being. But still, super lucky, if a criminal had got on that road ahead of the family, the story might have been different.
- jaco8 7y ago
  I agree. I was forced to hitch-hike in Guatemala after missing the last bus . I also was picked up by a family and sat in the back of their truck for about 100km. When I got off at 9pm they advised to only continue to hitch on mining trucks or oil tankers during the night. I still remember sitting under a huge banana leaf during torrential rain waiting for hours for a truck to stop. The driver later dropped me off in the middle of no where and said a bus would stop there by 5.30am and indeed it did stop, but it was full so I was sitting on the roof of the bus for the next three hours together with 10 other souls.
DoreenMichele 7y ago
I have reservations about the explanation that a consistent positive outcome can be chalked up to pure luck. She may not know what she was "doing right," but I think it more likely she was doing something that helped foster positive outcomes.
- ALittleLight 7y ago
  You may want to consider the rates of homicide and rape in Mexico before determining that one person's experience of not being hurt is that compelling.

jaco8 7y ago

In a bus traveling south of Mazatlan I met a family and they invited me to stay at their home in Mexico City. This place, as it turned out, was right in the middle of the largest slum and consisted of a metal frame with roofing and side walls made of tarpauline and a mud floor . The first few days there was a queue of people outside just to oogle the foreigner, but it was all good with lots of smiles. The morning teeth brushing and face washing ritual by young and old was fascinating to watch, with everyone awaiting their turn at the single faucet for hundreds of people.Food was simple, mostly made on small kerosene stoves. I stayed for 8 days and at no time did I feel unsafe , despite my host explaining about many pickpockets , expert thieves and robbers living in this area who went to work the tourist spots during the day , like other people would go to an office , but this was home. My host had a real job in the forestry department of the city government , but he said he could not afford to live else where.

joewee 7y ago
Professional thieves are professional enough to not waste time on the foreigner that was probably broke since you were staying in their neighborhood. And professional thieves need a level of anonymity to work, which goes out the door when they rob someone in front of their aunt.

Moru 7y ago

That's not how it works. People travel around like that the whole time I'm sure. If every one would end up dead after a month, there would not be anyone left. But that one time it happens, be it after 10 years or 20, you are still dead. Sucks to be that tiny percent that it happens to.

lazyasciiart 7y ago

Another woman did that recently(ish) in Europe, not just for adventures but to prove the world was a safe place or something - she was murdered though https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pippa_Bacca https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pippa_Bacca

mbar84 7y ago

This reminds me of a story about how a tribe in the amazon jungle picks their camp site. They check the surrounding trees to make sure they are in good health. I imagine you would have to spend 1000 nights next to a tree they would regard as unsafe, before there was even a chance for something to happen to you. When it happens though, your family will remember it.

zantana 7y ago

This is literally survivorship bias.

EA 7y ago

Survivor's Bias...